(a) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the regulation of certain business activities to be carried on or within residential districts when accessory and subordinate to the residential use, and which by their nature will not detract from the quality of residential neighborhoods.
(b) Home Occupation Defined. A home occupation is an activity carried out for consideration by a resident and conducted as an accessory use in the resident's dwelling unit. Consideration shall be defined as some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss, or responsibility, given, suffered, or undertaken by the other. This section does not prohibit the regulation of noise, advertising, traffic, hours of operation, or other conditions that may accompany the use of a residence under this section.
(c) Regulations; Requirements. Home occupations engaged in within a Residential District by the resident of a dwelling unit shall comply with all of the following:
(1) Such occupation shall be carried on by one occupant within the principal building, excluding all outdoor activities, with no employees. Examples of such home occupations include, but are not limited to, hairdressing, millinery, dressmaking, bookkeeping and accounting services, real estate and insurance sales and catalog sales.
(2) A babysitting service or family childcare home when not more than seven minor children are received for care and supervision for periods of less than eighteen hours a day, when unattended by a parent or legal guardian, is permitted.
(3) Home occupations shall be conducted by a person living within the dwelling and by no others, either as a principal or an employee. However, home occupations involving subordinate assistants who do not reside within the dwelling may be allowed by the Zoning Board of Appeals, where, in the Board's discretion, the same would not materially impair the residential character of the neighborhood.
(4) Home occupations shall be operated in their entirety within the dwelling and not within any garage or accessory building located upon the premises, except for incidental storage which may be allowed within a residential type garage upon the premises.
(5) No external evidence of such home occupation shall be allowed indicating from the exterior that it is being used for anything but a dwelling. This includes the parking of commercial vehicles and temporary storage of any materials associated with a home occupation.
(6) The parking or storage of commercial vehicles at a residence is prohibited and in violation of this chapter. For purposes of this section, a commercial vehicle is any vehicle used to conduct a business or trade including but not limited to step vans, cargo vans, box trucks, stake beds, buses, tractor trailers, dump trucks, wreckers, trailers, earth moving equipment, cement mixers and other similar construction equipment that has two or more of the following characteristics:
A. Exceeds a GVWR of 10,000 lbs.
B. Exceeds seven feet in height.
C. Exceeds twenty feet in length.
D. Has more than two axles.
E. Has more than four tires in contact with the ground.
F. Can carry more than eight passengers.
G. Is designed to sell food or merchandise directly from the vehicle.
(7) Home occupations may not be used as a meeting place, or rendezvous point for business activities or service operations before, during, or after shifts.
(8) No home occupation shall be conducted within a dwelling unless the same is clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the premises for residential purposes.
(9) No home occupation shall involve the sale of goods from the premises.
(10) No service shall be sold or conducted upon or from the premises which would constitute a nuisance to adjoining residents by reason of noise, smoke, odor, electrical disturbance, night lighting or the creation of unreasonable traffic to the premises. Noise, smoke, odor, electrical disturbances or lighting shall not be discernible beyond the boundaries of the property from which the home occupation is conducted.
(11) No home occupation requiring warehousing of retail or wholesale merchandise, or delivery of the same by large semitrailer-type trucks, shall be allowed.
(12) Paving of any yard area other than normal driveway areas to accommodate parking for home occupations is prohibited.
(13) No home occupation shall be allowed which utilizes more than twenty percent of the interior gross floor area of the inhabitable area of the dwelling and not, in any event, more than 300 square feet.
(14) In no instance shall the repair or sale of motor vehicles be permitted to be a home occupation.
(15) The permission for home occupations as provided herein is intended to secure flexibility in the application of this Zoning Code, but such permission is not intended to allow the essential residential character of a Residential District, in terms of use, traffic and appearance, to be changed in the slightest degree by the occurrence of nonresidential activities. Furthermore, no structural provisions shall be inherent in the design of the structure and no structural alterations shall be made for the accommodation of any home occupation. All activities, unless otherwise stated, shall be carried on indoors only, within the principal building.
(d) Other Requirements. The regulation of home occupations in this chapter shall not waive additional provisions that may be necessary to meet other local, state or federal requirements, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) State, local or federal taxation or business licensing laws;
(2) All applicable State of Michigan regulations for the preparation and distribution of food and food products;
(3) Cosmetologists, land surveyors and other occupations requiring licensing by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs;
(4) Section 28.1814(1)(e) of the Uniform Traffic Code of the State of Michigan, which prohibits the parking of a motor vehicle on a public street for more than forty-eight continuous hours;
(5) The Child Care Organizations Act, Public Act 116 of 1973, as amended, being MCL 722.111 et seq. which provides for the licensing of child care facilities by the Michigan Department of Social Services. The Act defines family child care homes as private homes in which at least one but fewer than seven minor children are received for care and supervision for compensation for periods of less than twenty-four hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the household by blood, marriage, or adoption.
(6) The Uniform Fire Code as it pertains to the storage of flammable materials, the use of mechanical or electrical equipment and the need to provide sufficient ingress and egress; and
(7) Private covenants or deed restrictions.
(Ord. 03-2023. Passed 5-2-23.)